Gwen Lawson: Kensington triple win bronze at national bowls comp; postponed events back on

The Kensington triple of Diane Strawbridge, Dave Hopper and John Hooson took the bronze medal in the Bowls3Five National tournament last weekend.

The weather might have had the final say last weekend here in the North, but in Wellington, the Kensington triple of Diane Strawbridge, Dave Hopper and John Hooson were flying the flag high in qualifying for the post section of the Bowls3Five National tournament.

Congratulations to them for gaining a bronze medal for their third-equal placing.

Twenty-six of the 27 centres took part. It was a great, hard-fought semifinal, with the result hinging on the last bowl of a tie-breaker ending when the opposition skip put the jack in the ditch for the win. Well done to the team for their success.

Meanwhile, at home, Friday saw the secondary schools’ any-combination pairs having to be cancelled. Sixty players were scheduled to take part from all over the Northland area. We are now looking for a new date - a difficult thing to do when the schools programme is full to overflowing with activities, which are planned from the beginning of the year in conjunction with Sport Northland. It is a shame that 60 young potential players could miss out on a fun day.

Saturday also saw the Regional 1-5 Year Interclub Sixes postponed. Teams from Howick, Manurewa, Helensville, Onerahi and Ōkaihau were scheduled to play at Kamo. We are now looking to reschedule this event for a weekend in June. With luck, we can get everyone together for this important event.

This weekend will hopefully see two tournaments that were rescheduled earlier in the season get off the ground.

The Centre Women’s Open Singles post section will be played at Kensington on Saturday, starting at 9.30am. Qualifiers were Janice Little, Diane Strawbridge, Wendy Sarjeant and Patricia Murray.

On Sunday, the Junior 1-5 men and women’s singles post section will be played at Onerahi.

Players competing:

Women: Heather Conaghan (bye round one), Denise Barnes, Fran Waterhouse, Lynnette Simon, Ally Connery, Anita Peachey, Jennifer Kitchen. All report at 8.15am.

Men: Grant Jones, Graham Ball (bye round one), Keith Marshall, Jeffrey Cole, Neville Rogers, Grant Wilson. All report at 8.15am.

Please don’t forget your marker for singles events.

Reminder: The postponed Champ of Champ Fours for men and women will be played at Ngunguru Green on Sunday, May 21, 2023.